In a dramatic move the leading litigation funding group LPF Group have laid a complaint against chief justice Dame Sian Elias alleging that her actions had brought a “breach of natural justice, judicial bias and a failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest.”

In a press release issued today, the company, of which former Supreme Court Justice Bill Wilson is a director, said that the case related to the action funded by LPF against PVL Ltd and Pricewaterhousecoopers and the directors of PVL, which LawFuel reported about last week.

“This isn’t a decision LPF Group has taken lightly,” Mr Newland said. “However, the Chief Justice is the most senior judge in New Zealand, and her opinions carry considerable weight in the legal community.”

“Given the potential implications for plaintiffs accessing justice through litigation funding, often against well-resourced defendants typically with large insurance companies behind them, LPF Group feels very strongly that the circumstances need to be investigated in this instance.

“The potential impact of the comments has been highlighted by the way a significant insurance law firm representing the other side in the case has reported the decision in a public newsletter, as “creating uncertainty over litigation funding” Mr Newland said.

“The complaint is not related to the legal outcome of the case. The Chief Justice offered a series of unfair and unjustified opinions which were not related to the legal questions before the Court, and made incorrect and highly concerning remarks about the legitimacy of litigation funding in New Zealand.”

“Further, we believe potential material conflicts of interest with the insurance industry should have been disclosed by the Chief Justice. It was never disclosed to the parties that the Chief Justice’s husband Hugh Fletcher, is chairman of IAG New Zealand Limited which we believe is likely to be an insurer of one of the parties to the case in question and the largest insurer of professional liability in New Zealand.”